Starr County Man Sentenced For East Texas Drug Trafficking

BEAUMONT, Texas – A 42-year-old Roma, Texas, man has been sentenced to federal prison for drug trafficking violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney John M. Bales today.

David Bazan pleaded guilty on Feb. 12, 2013, to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine and was sentenced to 360 months in federal prison today by U.S. District Judge Thad Heartfield. The court also imposed a $25 million money judgment against Bazan.

According to information presented in court, on Jan. 25, 2011, law enforcement officers stopped a vehicle on IH-10 in Beaumont pursuant to undercover information indicating the vehicle would be trafficking drugs. A search of the vehicle revealed 31.91 kilograms of cocaine. Further investigation revealed David Bazan, leader of the Bazan drug trafficking organization, was responsible for the shipment. Bazan received thousands of kilograms of cocaine from leaders of the Gulf Cartel for the past decade and then distributed those drugs throughout the United States. Bazan was indicted by a federal grand jury on Dec. 14, 2011.

This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Internal Revenue Service, the Beaumont Police Department, and the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John Craft.